Babri Masjid Case: A Look at the Controversy That Started in 1885

Senior BJP leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi and Union minister Uma Bharti will be appearing before a special CBI court in Lucknow on Tuesday to hear framing of charges against them in the Babri Masjid demolition case. Here's a look at the how the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi controversy has panned out:

File photo of Babri Masjid. (Photo: Getty Images)

New Delhi: Lucknow: Senior BJP leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi and Union minister Uma Bharti have been charged with criminal conspiracy in the Babri Masjid demolition case. A special CBI court ordered framing of charges under IPC section 120B (Punishment of criminal conspiracy) read with 153 (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 153A, 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class), 295A and 505 (Statements conducing to public mischief).

Here's a look at the how the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi controversy has panned out:

1885: Mahant Raghubir Das is refused permission to build a temple on the outer courtyard of the Babri Masjid

The legal battle over the disputed Babri Masjid structure goes on for over a century.

1949: Idols of Ram Lalla are placed surreptitiously under the central dome of the Babri Masjid

1950-61: Four separate suits are filed to either perform puja of Ram Lalla (infant Ram) or hand over charge of the disputed site

1986: Site opens for Hindu worshippers after Faizabad district judge orders removal of locks

1989: The four suits pending are transferred to the Allahabad HC

1991: UP govt acquires land around the structure for convenience of devotees who attend Ram Lalla darshan

December 1992: Babri Masjid is demolished by a frenzied mob of karsevaks

Two FIRs are filed in the Babri Masjid demolition case.Crime no. 197: Actual “demolition of the mosque by karsevaks”Crime no. 198: Thirteen BJP leaders, including LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and Vinay Katiyar, are named for delivering ‘communal’ speeches before the demolition

1993: Govt takes over 67 acres of land around the area, seeks SC opinion on whether there existed a Hindu place of worship before the Babri Masjid was built

October 1993: CBI files a composite chargesheet and accuses Advani and other BJP leaders of ‘conspiracy’

1994: Case is sent back to Lucknow Bench of Allahabad HC, suits heard again from 1996